SADC
agrees to convene special summit on Zimbabwe

A special summit on Zimbabwe to review the progress of the
power-sharing government will soon be held in Maputo, Mozambique, eight
months after such a move was first suggested by an earlier SADC
summit.

A source in Kinshasa told SW Radio Africa on Monday that this
extraordinary summit on Zimbabwe will be held in the coastal city of Maputo
in three weeks' time.

The decision to remove Zimbabwe from the agenda
at the current SADC summit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was
received as 'good news' by an MDC delegation led by Morgan Tsvangirai. The
MDC leader spent part of the day holding one-on-one meetings with SADC
leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

The 15-member body, which
kicked off its two-day summit on Monday, had been expected to discuss a raft
of issues relating to the deal between Tsvangirai's MDC and Robert Mugabe's
ZANU PF. The issue of Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa's unilateral move
to pull out of the SADC Tribunal will now be dealt with in
Maputo.

Human rights lawyer Dewa Mavhinga, who is in Kinshasa, told us
the decision to defer discussion on Zimbabwe was to give SADC member states
more time to focus on the core issues troubling the inclusive
government.

'This will give the Heads of State and Government ample time
to address the question of Zimbabwe as it is, without clouding it with other
issues, like the conflict in Madagascar and peace making efforts in the
eastern DRC,' Mavhinga said.

'I think this is a better way of
addressing outstanding issues, rather than try to rush through discussion on
Zimbabwe because of time limits, as the summit has a host of other issues to
tackle. So in three weeks, it will be a special summit on Zimbabwe only,'
Mavhinga added.

During a SADC summit in Pretoria in January, the regional
bloc undertook to conduct a six-month review of the inclusive government and
the allocation of ministerial mandates to the respective
parties.

The SADC group comprises Angola, South Africa, Botswana,
Mauritius, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, the DR Congo, Swaziland,
Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Madagascar was suspended because of current
political upheaval.The MDC and Zanu-PF have asked SADC to resolve
outstanding issues. These include a dispute over Mugabe's unilateral
appointment of the attorney general and central bank governor, the ongoing
arrest and imprisonment of MDC politicians, plus various others issues such
as Mugabe's reluctance to swear in the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Roy
Bennett.

The Attorney-General, Johannes Tomana told the Zimbabwe Standard
over the weekend that he will not to resign from his post, even if it means
the collapse of the inclusive government. He said his appointment was above
board and was constitutional.

The AG said if the GNU collapses
because of the controversy surrounding his appointment it would not be his
fault and he would not feel guilty.

'Politicians are the ones that would
have let the nation down. I won't feel bad. I am not a politician. The
nation would have been let down, but not by me,' Tomana is quoted as
saying.

The power-sharing government was established to try to end the
country's political and economic crises. During the run up to the June
presidential election last year tens of thousands of MDC supporters across
the country had their homes and villages destroyed by ZANU PF youths and
purported war veterans, to intimidate them from voting against
Mugabe.

The Tsvangirai MDC said over 200 of its supporters were killed,
countless thousands were badly tortured and another 500,000 were displaced
by Mugabe's security forces, ZANU PF youths and war veterans.

Zim making
significant progress, says Zuma

Kinshasa - Zimbabwe has made signficant progress
towards ending its political crisis as its once feuding leaders learn to
bury their differences, South African President Jacob Zuma said on
Monday.

Speaking in Kinshasa at a summit of a regional club of
nations known as SADC, Zuma also said southern Africa had to remain on hand
to help Zimbabwe push on after the establishment of a unity government in
Harare.

"Significant progress has been made under the auspices of
the Inclusive Government," said Zuma who is standing down as head of the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) after South Africa's 12-month
stint in the chair.

"We are all encouraged by how the three
parties put their differences aside."

Zimbabwe was plunged into
political crisis last March after veteran leader Robert Mugabe was beaten
into second place in a presidental election by his long-time rival Morgan
Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai subsequently pulled out of a run-off
election after scores of his supporters were killed but he eventually agreed
to join a unity government in February this year as prime minister, along
with another opposition faction.

"These achievements signalled
to the people of Zimbabwe, the region and the world, that the Zimbabwean
political leadership was ready to collectively tackle the political and the
socio-economic challenges facing that country," added Zuma.

Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila, who succeeds Zuma in
the SADC chair, told his fellow leaders that he wanted "to encourage the
continuation of efforts" to resolve differences between Mugabe's ZANU-PF
party and Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change.

Zuma
urges Zimbabwe`s leaders not to undermine unity govt deal

Outgoing Chairperson of the Southern African
Development Community, (SADC) President Jacob Zuma, has reiterated his call
to Zimbabwean leaders not to engage in any activities that undermine the
country's power sharing deal.

He was speaking at the SADC Heads
of State and Government Summit today which has resumed in the Democratic
Republic of Congo's capital city, Kinshasa. Recently, political bickering
over the implementation of the power-sharing pact has heightened tensions
between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.

Zuma, who has just relinquished his position as SADC
Chairperson, says they are committed to encouraging further progress in the
country. "Just as SADC has stood with the people of Zimbabwe in the search
for the solution to the challenges facing the country, it remains committed
to working to encourage further progress."

DRC President Joseph
Kabila has now officially taken over from President Zuma as new chairperson
of SADC. Kabila is seen as a close ally of Mugabe and there are doubts
whether he will be an impartial mediator between Zanu-PF and the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC).

Another
MDC activist murdered

The MDC said
on Monday that another party activist, Godknows Dzoro Mtshakazi, was beaten
to death by four soldiers at Mufiri Business Centre in Shurugwi, Midlands
province on August 30th for playing an MDC song in a bar.

Mtshakazi was
drinking beer with some friends when soldiers from a nearby military base
came and started questioning them on why they were playing a popular MDC
album called Nharembozha - Cellphone. The soldiers reportedly started
beating up all the people in the bar accusing them of fanning hatred in the
community.

The MDC statement said: "A family spokesman said Godknows was
tortured to death by the four soldiers. He said the deceased was burnt with
plastic paper and had his dreadlocks cut and burnt. Other revellers
sustained severe injuries and had to seek medical treatment at the nearby
Shurugwi Hospital."

The 33 year old activist was buried last Friday at
Mufiri Village.

Last week the MDC announced that another MDC activist,
Joseph Munyuki died at Masvingo Hospital after he was attacked early last
month by a known Zanu PF youth. The party said he was assaulted for being an
MDC sympathizer.

Call
for GNU to address 2008 violence

HARARE - Civic society organisations have challenged
government to recall more than 70 senior army officers who were deployed
among rural communities during the run-up to the presidential re-election on
June 27, 2008.The military allegedly committed human rights abuses with
impunity while acting as political commissars for the then ruling Zanu-PF
party.

The senior army personnel purporting to be war veterans were
deployed in April 2008, as first revealed by The Zimbabwe Times then, to
intimidate opposition supporters through a campaign of violence during the
run-up to the second presidential election. President Robert Mugabe was the
sole candidate after Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan
Tsvangirai withdrew from the election citing brutal violence against his
party's supporters.

In a report entitled "Can apples be reaped from a
thorn tree - Zimbabwe's road to transition", the Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition (CZC), a grouping of more than 350 civic organisations challenged
the coalition government to update Zimbabweans about the whereabouts of more
than seventy soldiers who were deployed throughout the country's ten
provinces.

"The media environment, legislative environment, the
militarization of the villages, State and its critical institutions created
during the sham election seem to remain intact, seven months after the
formation of the inclusive government of Zimbabwe," reads part of the 67
page report launched last Friday by CZC chairperson Irene Petras in
Harare.

"There is no clear evidence that the soldiers who were deployed
to different communities during the violent poll have returned to the
barracks. The historic vigilisation of the military had catastrophic
consequences on human rights in the country."

The coalition said
there were reports of other bases being set up in some areas and further
deployment of the so-called "youth officers" from the Ministry of
Youth.

"The inclusive government authorities (especially the Ministries
of Defence and Home Affairs) are challenged to prove that the military have
moved out of the villages and communities where they stand accused of
committing human rights abuses with impunity while they acted as political
commissars of the then ruling Zanu-PF party, outside the provisions of the
Zimbabwe Defence Act and the Constitution of Zimbabwe," the report
said.

CZC said the transitional government had in its first seven months
ignored the critical issues of transitional justice-especially the
retributive aspect of it thus fuelling impunity in the same manner that
selective application of the law had continued unabated under the direction
of a partisan Attorney-General (AG)'s Office.

However, the civic
organization noted that the coalition government had made some progress in
revamping the health and education sector, which had effectively collapsed
prior to its formation this February.

CZC urged the coalition government
to bring to book the perpetrators of last year's unprecedented political
violence and wanton human rights violations which led to the domestic,
regional and international condemnation of the June 27 presidential election
run-off fiasco.

CZC said it was pertinent for civil society organisations
to closely monitor the progress of the transitional government in
implementing the Inter Party Agreement (IPA) considering there was no longer
effective political opposition in the country where transparency,
accountability, addressing the needs of citizens, and ensuring their rights,
can be overlooked by those more intent on consolidation of
power.

"Ideally, the role of civil society is to be a 'watchdog' of State
activities, ensuring that the State complies with domestic, regional and
international requirements for the successful transition to democracy," said
Petras, who is also the executive director of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights (ZLHR).

Prison
officers allegedly tortured

MASVINGO - At least 10 prison officers based at Mutimurefu Prison
on the outskirts of Masvingo city are battling for their lives at Masvingo
General Hospital after they were allegedly tortured by the military police
for indiscipline.

The Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs has reportedly deployed military police at the main prisons
countrywide to curb cases of indiscipline. Some dangerous criminals have
escaped from custody while prison officers were on duty.

The 10
officers said yesterday said they were tortured for reporting for work late
while senior prison officers said they were punished for unspecified cases
of indiscipline.

Two of the victims were unconscious when they were
brought to hospital.

"We were just told that we had reported for work
late hence we were supposed to be disciplined", said one of the
officers.

"Some of us sustained serious injuries and our seniors have
barred us from making a police report".

The officer in charge of
Mutimurefu Prison, Finos Masango, yesterday confirmed the prison officers
were disciplined but pleaded with the media not to publish the
story.

"The ten were just disciplined in a normal way and to say they
were tortured is very untrue", said Masango. "I plead with you not to
publish this story because it is sensitive. Only two sustained serious
injuries while others were just treated for minor injuries."

The
permanent secretary in the Ministry of Justice David Mangota yesterday
professed ignorance over the issue but vowed to investigate the
case.

"I am not aware of that but right now I am going to institute
investigations so that a full report is forwarded to me within two days",
said Mangota.

Zimbabwe's prisons are overcrowded. Last week President
Robert Mugabe pardoned about 1500 prisoners.

Cases of inmates
escaping from custody after paying bribes to prison officials are on the
increase in the country.

According to reliable sources this has prompted
the ministry to deploy military police at its main prisons to curb cases of
indiscipline.

"The military police have been deployed in all the
country's prisons to instill discipline among officers", said the
source.

"However, in some cases some of the military police personnel
beat people severely hence the incident at Mutimurefu".

Last year
about six inmates, most of them facing serious criminal charges, escaped
from Masvingo Remand Prison after allegedly paying cash in return for their
freedom.

Two of the inmates were re-arrested while the rest are still at
large. Four prison officers were later arrested while the officer in charge
has since been fired.

Classes went ahead in some of Zimbabwe's schools today
depending on the union affiliation of teachers and school administrators,
sources said.

School heads tied to the Zimbabwe Teachers Assocaition were
said to be turning away pupils, while classes went ahead at schools where
the main labor affiliation was with the Progressive Teachers Union of
Zimbabwe, they said.

Zimta acting chief executive officer Sifiso
Ndlovu tells Studio Seven's Sandra Nyaira that members of his organization
won't go back to work until the government agrees to raise
salaries.

Progressive Teachers Union president Takavafira Zhou accused
Zimta of misleading teachers saying a South African group has invited both
unions to a strategic meeting aimed at unification.

Zhou says the
meeting will be held on the 17th of this month in South Africa. He adds it
is embarrasing that teachers in Zimbabwe are divided between Zimta and the
PTUZ and it now appeared as the unions are competing to be heard.

Party loyalties disrupt education

HARARE, 7 September 2009
(IRIN) - The fault lines between Zimbabwe's political parties are causing
disruption at the opening of the third term in public schools, continuing years
of decline in a sector once regarded as sub-Saharan Africa's finest.

It
was hoped the formation of the unity government in February 2009 would resurrect
the ailing schooling system, but lack of finance, teacher shortages and
political spats between teachers' unions are stalling the sector's recovery.

The country ditched its own currency, the Zimbabwe dollar, to tame
rampant hyperinflation. In a bid to revitalize public services, employees across
the board are paid a similar wage in US dollars, which was initially welcomed
but has since been derided as paltry by recipients.

The 40,000-member
Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), seen as having strong ties to President
Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, is calling for a national strike, which some
teachers are already heeding. The union said the current US$140 salary was
inadequate and has demanded a US$500 monthly wage.

The usually militant
Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), aligned to Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), is urging its
20,000 members to refrain from strike action.

"Our position as PTUZ is
that the government has no money; going on strike now would not solve anything
because there just isn't any. So what we are saying is that teachers are not
going on strike - we are in talks with the ministers responsible for education
and finance, and we believe that something positive is going to come out of
those deliberations."

A teacher at a public school in the capital,
Harare, told IRIN: "We are getting tired and confused by conflicting statements
from our union leaders, and we get the feeling that we are being used in
political games."

The allocation of portfolios in the unity government
gave the MDC responsibility for many of the social services ministries, while
ZANU-PF maintained their grip on the security ministries.

Western donors
have adopted a wait-and-see approach to Zimbabwe's unity government as they are
deeply uncertain of the extent of ZANU-PF's commitment to democracy, so billions
of dollars of support remain on hold.

I would like to appeal to the
teachers to return to school because the third term is quite crucial ... public
examinations like the Ordinary and Advanced Levels are just round the
corner

David Coltart, minister of education,
sport and culture, and a member of a breakaway MDC party led by deputy prime
minister Arthur Mutumbara, has called on teachers to appreciate the country's
precarious financial situation and the importance of the third term to pupils.

"I would like to appeal to the teachers to return to school because the
third term is quite crucial ... public examinations like the Ordinary and
Advanced Levels are just round the corner," he said.

Teachers
already not teaching

ZIMTA secretary-general Richard Gundani
told IRIN: "It is actually not possible for teachers to continue because of
inadequate incomes. We have done our assessments and established that a large
number of teachers are not teaching - the few teachers still at work are in
affluent suburbs, where parents and guardians have offered them extra
incentives."

Secretary-general of the MDC, Tendai Biti, who, as
Zimbabwe's finance minister is also responsible for coordinating the payment of
public servants, told the state-controlled daily newspaper, The Herald, that the
unity government could not afford any wage increases.

"Unless there is a
dramatic improvement in the economy and revenue improves by 300 percent we have
no extra fiscal space for a salary increment at the moment; there is no money,
and government is currently operating on a cash budget."

He said the
unity government had realized its largest revenue so far in July 2009, but the
bulk of it went towards paying the country's 236,000 public servants.

"We paid around US$52 million for civil servants' salaries and the rest
has gone to the hospitals for drugs, the various embassies across the world,
food, and inputs for agricultural activities, among other expenses."

[ENDS]

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations]

HOT SEAT: MDC says there are no sanctions on Zimbabwe

According to ZANU PF the “sanctions against Zimbabwe ”
are preventing the success of the GNU. They have insisted that the
MDC join the campaign to have them lifted and recently the
MDC have been making noises in this direction. On Hot Seat
Violet Gonda talks to the Minister of State in Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s
office, Gorden Moyo, who clarifies that there are “no sanctions” on
Zimbabwe . The Minister also reveals that neither the Prime
Minister nor the cabinet were consulted on the issue of
Zimbabwe pulling out of the SADC Tribunal (which has made
rulings in support of white commercial farmers).

Broadcast: – 4 September, 2009

Violet
Gonda: My guest on the Hot Seat programme is Gordon Moyo, the minister
of State in the Prime Minister’s Office. Hallo Mr Moyo.

Gorden Moyo: Hallo, how are
you?

Gonda: I’m OK. I’d like to start by talking with
you about the issue of sanctions. It’s reported or it appears that pressure is
mounting on the two MDC formations to fulfil agreed concessions to the inclusive
government and chief among them, is actively advocating the lifting of what
Zanu-PF says are economic sanctions imposed by the west. Now first of all can
you describe for us the measures in place?

Minister of State in Prime
Minister office, Gorden Moyo

Moyo: Let me start by making a disclaimer here. It is
not the responsibility of the MDC to deal with the issue of sanctions. It is the
responsibility of the inclusive government which is composed of three political
parties, the MDC -T, the MDC -M and Zanu-PF. So it is not an exclusive issue of
two parties into the inclusive government. It is the inclusive government in its
totality because the issues that led to restrictive measures or sanctions as it
were; are issues that are related very strongly to the former government of
Zimbabwe .

But to come back to your question, there are various narratives about the
issue of sanctions/restrictive measures. There is one narrative from Zanu-PF
which I call nationalistic narrative. This narrative or this discourse from
Zanu-PF claims that Zimbabwe was imposed some sanctions by the west. The west
imposed these sanctions, economic and trade sanctions to Zimbabwe because of the
land redistribution programme. That the west was against the land redistribution
programme – that’s what Zanu-PF believe. They say that was punishment to
Zanu-PF.

The other narrative is the narrative of the democrats or reformers in
government who believe that, no we do not have sanctions in the country, what we
have are restrictive measures which came into life because the government of
Zimbabwe was not respecting human rights, the government of Zimbabwe had no
respect for the rule of law and good governance and as a result many of the
countries around the world could not relate with the Zanu-PF government which
did not respect the norms and values of good governance. So they then imposed
targeted measures or some restrictive measures to some individuals in government
who were seen as perpetuators, as merchants of violence in the country.

So those are the two broad perspectives in as far as the interpretation of
the sanctions and restrictive measures are concerned. But there are official
positions from the international community itself. The World Bank and IMF have
not imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe . What they have imposed are financial
penalties because Zimbabwe had failed to honour its obligations to the World
Bank and to the IMF. We did not pay our arrears to the World Bank and to the
International Monetary Fund. Now according to their standards, according to
their regulations, if a country fails to pay their arrears, that country has to
be in one way or the other be punished. Hence the credit lines were stopped by
the World Bank and IMF in 1997, 1998, 1999, some grants that were provided to
Zimbabwe from those two Bretton institutions were blocked and stopped, not
because of the land but because Zimbabwe had failed only to honour its
obligations.

So we can’t say we are failing to get credit lines, to get grants, to get
loans from the World Bank and the IMF because of the land issue. In fact I’d
like to let your listeners know that it was in 1997 and 1998 that these two
institutions started imposing some penalties, financial penalties in Zimbabwe ,
two years before the formation of the MDC . It is not true that the MDC invited
sanctions to Zimbabwe or they promoted sanctions into the country because
financial penalties by the World Bank and by the IMF were imposed onto Zimbabwe
in 1997, 1998, two years before the formation of the MDC . So it’s not possible
for MDC to have invited sanctions in to the country when they were not yet
formed, when the MDC was not yet conceived in 1997, 1998. So I therefore say to
you it is not true that the MDC is responsible for sanctions or restrictive
measures in the country, it was because Zimbabwe failed to pay its arrears to
the World Bank and to the IMF.

Gonda: So Mr Moyo are you saying there are no illegal
sanctions at all in Zimbabwe because according to Zanu-PF, there’s the Zimbabwe
Democracy and Economic Recovery Act or Z’DERA and Zanu-PF says the Act which was
enacted by the US introduced economic sanctions on Zimbabwe, sanctions which
they say have harmed the country?

Moyo: I would like to peel folklore from history and from
fact. Z’DERA which was enacted in 2001 by the United States government indeed
imposes some restrictive measures on Zimbabwe . It says the United States will
oppose the granting of loans, of credit lines or grants by any financial
institution to Zimbabwe and they give their reason. Their reason is that the
government of Zimbabwe was not respecting the rule of law, the norms and values
of good governance. As a result the government of the United States could not
relate as usual with the government of Zimbabwe, but I must make it clear that
the United States has got only 16.7% of the voting powers within the IMF and the
World Bank which means the World Bank can still give loans to Zimbabwe even if
the United States is against, even if the United States votes against the
granting of those loans, so it is not Z’DERA that has stopped the credit lines
coming from the World Bank or from the IMF because the US has no majority, it
has only 16.7%.

So it is a lie, a pathological lie, it is propagandism to peddle the
information that Z’DERA has caused so much harm in the country. It is us as
government of Zimbabwe that has failed to deal with the issues of human rights,
with the issues of rule of law, issues of good governance. But let me tell you
this, Z’DERA states it very clearly that if the government of Zimbabwe respects,
if it changes and respects these norms and values of human rights, the President
of the United States reserves the right to immediately repeal the Act so the
ball is in our court as Zimbabweans to make the Z’DERA repealed, to make Z’DERA
irrelevant. If we simply implement the Global Political Agreement, Z’DERA will
be irrelevant tomorrow, it won’t take even a day - if we implement fully the
Global Political Agreement as we have signed it, there will be no need for
Z’DERA. Even the international community in terms of its multilateral
institutions will mellow to Zimbabwe overnight. So we shouldn’t be crying about
sanctions, we should be reflecting and we should be looking at ourselves,
subjecting ourselves into critical appraisal and say let’s implement what we
agreed to implement on the 15 th of September 2008 .

Gonda: Can you briefly outline for us what’s left to be
implemented or what needs to be implemented because there seems to be this
confusion: On the one hand, you as the MDC you say there are several issues that
are still unresolved but Zanu-PF say the only two outstanding issues are the
issue of the sanctions and also the issue of so-called pirate radio stations. So
in your view as the MDC and also speaking from the Prime Minister’s Office, what
are the unresolved issues?

Moyo: Let me divide the problematic issues into three
categories. The first category is the category of the outstanding issues of the
Global Political Agreement. The outstanding issues are issues of the Reserve
Bank governor and the attorney general. The SADC in 2008 made a statement, made
a ruling that the new government, the inclusive government should deal with the
matters of the Reserve Bank governor and the attorney general. Now those issues
have not been resolved, a deadlock has been reached so they become outstanding
in the sense that the Principals in the inclusive government have failed to
reach an agreement on how to proceed. Now those issues have been taken to the
SADC, a document was prepared and given over to the chairman of SADC, President
Zuma. So that’s one category.

Category two is the category that includes issues of implementation where we
have stalled implementation of the political agreement. Now within that category
we have the provincial governors, we have the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and
we have the issues around the ambassadors. Those issues have been resolved. The
Principals in the inclusive government met and came up with the resolution; they
agreed that there shall be new governors with effect from 1 st September 2009
and that they were going to be sworn in together with the Deputy Minister of
Agriculture – that has not happened. It means implementation has been stalled,
it’s not taken place. That’s a difficult issue and we need to resolve those
matters because the inclusive government is a power sharing government, we need
to share power. If those matters are not resolved, it means there is no power
sharing across all structures of government.

Now the third category involves the issues of the breach of the Global
Political Agreement where we continue to see selective application of law. Where
the members of MDC , specifically members of parliament are selectively
prosecuted, selectively arrested, selectively sentenced and we continue to see
some violence taking place and disruptions in the farms. Now these are critical
issues of violation of the Global Political Agreement.

So the world is saying, you agreed to share the governors, the provincial
governors, you agreed to bring order in the farms and in the communities, you
agreed to respect the rule of law, you agreed to sanitise the political space in
the country but this is not happening and we are not going to do these things
and we are not demanding them for the international community, they are good for
ourselves, Zimbabweans, even without international community, we still need
order in the country, we still need to share power equitably according to our
agreement in the Global Political Agreement.

Now for Zanu-PF to say there are only two issues, that’s being in my view,
unrealistic because the issue of pirate radio stations is very simple to deal
with – open up the media in the country, let’s allow for other players to
operate in the country. We would have yourselves, we will have all the other
radio stations, all other newspapers operating in the country, no-one would like
to stay outside their country, and people want to come home. They want to be
with their families, they want to be with their friends, they want to be in
their land of birth so everybody will come home as soon as there is
demonstration by our government that we are truly opening up space for media for
engagement.

So the problem is not with one party of the inclusive government, the problem
is within the ministries that are supposed to do that. That Ministry which is
supposed to open up the airwaves, open up the press and everything like that is
part of the purview of Zanu-PF ministries. So we can’t blame the MDC for that.
We are supposed to do it together as a government, opening up the air spaces.

As regards to the sanctions, I’ve already said it is the inclusive government
that is supposed to implement. Once we’ve implemented all these issues that
we’ve agreed, there will be no reason for United States to continue to hang on
to Z’DERA. In fact the Prime Minister has already taken a move, a grand step. He
went to the United States and ten other countries in Europe to engage the world,
to say things are happening in Zimbabwe , to say to them look this is time to
re-engage Zimbabwe , and you need to come to Zimbabwe . You will recall that he
even came to the United Kingdom where he engaged even the Zimbabweans themselves
and he said they should come back home. So the Prime Minister has done his best,
in fact as cabinet, we came up with a committee of engagement which is made up
of six ministers, two from each of the political parties into the Agreement, to
engage the EU. It is the Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe , Morgan
Tsvangirai who went to Brussels to launch the Zimbabwe/EU dialogue for the
purposes of engaging EU, to deal with restrictive measures so that we can have
our companies operating freely, or engaging the EU. You could have some
assistance, international development assistance coming to Zimbabwe , we could
have even direct budgetary support into the country through that dialogue and
that dialogue at the moment is not moving at the pace that we expected. The pace
is painstakingly slow and that pace is determined by the Chairperson of the
Committee and the Chairperson of the Committee is the Minister of Foreign
Affairs. If the Minister of Foreign Affairs was to reignite the process of
engagement, give it more life, give it more power, give it the wings to fly and
the feet to run and jump, the process of engaging the EU would lead to the
lifting of these restrictive measures. That cannot be blamed onto the MDC . It
is the Minister of Foreign Affairs who should be driving that process of
engagement.

Gonda: But Mr Moyo, is it really enough for the MDC to say
that the Prime Minister has been doing a lot of talking, trying to re-engage the
west? What is the MDC doing to put pressure on the Mugabe regime, on Zanu-PF to
change because your critics are saying you are relying on the international
community and especially on SADC to fight your battles? Are you going to rush to
SADC every single time you have a problem in cabinet?

Moyo: We are not going to do that. We have done it once
and in my view, it is part of the Global Political Agreement to refer issues to
SADC. SADC is the guarantor to the Global Political Agreement; African Union is
the guarantor to the Global Political Agreement. We have been pushing for six
months, every Monday and every Friday, the Prime Minister meeting with the
President to discuss these matters. I think six months if is was a pregnancy by
now it would be seen by everybody that surely there is a success curve there and
a child is coming. So I think it is proper for the issues be taken to the SADC,
it is a legal, it is a legitimate, it is a proper route to take those issues
because SADC is a guarantor and we have gone there only once so it is not true
that every time issues are raised, we go to the SADC. We have been engaging, the
Principals have been engaging. When there was a problem with the constitutional
process, the Principals engaged. We have been engaging, every Monday and every
Friday Principals meet to engage but at times we realise that we are hitting a
brick wall, we are not moving any way, we are idling, we are like a treadmill,
cycling and cycling but not going anywhere, only gathering moss. We need to do
something and that something has been done. We have called Zuma, Zuma came to
Zimbabwe to engage the parties into the inclusive government and we expect some
kind of action to take place after this engagement. The most logical thing to do
is to engage.

Gonda: But what do you think SADC is actually going to do
about this because it is widely believed that Mugabe does not listen to anyone
especially those in SADC and especially as the new Chair of SADC is going to be
the DRC leader, Joseph Kabila who has a special relationship with Robert Mugabe?
And some even say you’ve been talking about the appointment of people like
Gideon Gono and you know that Mugabe is not going to budge on issues like that;
so how would you respond to people who say you’ve already stripped so many
powers off Gono, the Reserve Bank governor, why don’t you just let it go for the
sake of progress and move on to other issues? How do you respond to that?

Moyo: Look here, I can’t and we can’t prejudge what SADC
is going to do. That would be premature. We are giving SADC a chance, it has got
a new chairperson, we have not seen how effective he is, so I think that the
best we can do as government is to give SADC a chance, we must give them the
responsibility and let’s give them the opportunity to deal with the matters and
we can only analyse and we can only make a statement about their effectiveness
after they have put their own bite onto that cherry. So I can’t comment further
than in terms of what SADC can do, we want to give it a chance. T

he critics, whoever they are, but I’m not aware of them, the critics who are
saying we should leave these matters because Mugabe is not going to change
anyway, I think it would be naïve for government to do that, for us as parties
in government to do that. There is an agreement, an agreement which says the
issues of Gono and Tomana must be resolved. We are determined, we are
government, we are not a social club where we simply say OK let’s forget about
that. These are issues of power, these are issues of principle, and we need to
deal with issues of principle with the high moral latitude that they deserve. So
we need to deal with that and Mugabe must bend and Mugabe must respect
the Agreement so we are not going to stop, we are not going to say no.

Yes, a lot has been done as far as sanitising the Reserve Bank is concerned.
A Bill has gone through and the principles of the Bill have gone through cabinet
and the committee of legislation - and is now waiting to go parliament to
sanitise the RBZ - but that is not enough. There is an Agreement signed on the
15 th of September to deal with the matters of both Gono and Tomana and we shall
stick to that. We are principled, we are not going to be swayed, we are not
going to dissuaded - we believe in principles so we are going to stick to that.
That Mugabe is not going to accept, is not going to change, we don’t know that
he’s not going to change, he should change because that’s what the Agreement
says.

Gonda : And earlier on you talked a bit about the disruption
of farms in the country and this week the Herald reported that Zimbabwe has
pulled out of the SADC Tribunal claiming that the regional court has not been
properly constituted and that the country will no longer take part in or respect
any decisions from the Tribunal. Now is this something that the MDC is aware of
and also something that you support?

Moyo: Now look here, we only read about that on the press,
we heard about it from the streets. But in the government you don’t operate like
that. I can’t say that it’s true because I don’t know about that and something
that I don’t know about I don’t comment on. The proper procedure of government -
if a decision of that nature and of that gravity has to be taken, that decision
has to be taken either through the Council of Ministers or through cabinet and I
was in the last cabinet, the last two, three cabinets, I was there and nothing
of that nature was brought to the attention of cabinet to make a decision. And
neither was it brought to the Council of Ministers, so it’s something that I’ve
read about and I don’t know its authenticity and I don’t believe that is true;
because anything of that nature, you are talking about the policy of government
in relation to other countries, more so in relation to the sub-region and all
members of government should be aware of that and should be consulted on such
issues and we are not aware of that ourselves.

Gonda: Now according to the Herald, the Justice Minister
actually wrote a letter to the SADC Tribunal last month telling them that
Zimbabwe was pulling out of the Tribunal, so what does it mean, that the
Minister would actually make these unilateral decisions on fundamental issues
like this without talking to partners in the GNU, in the coalition government?

Moyo: Like I said, it will be difficult for me to
comment on that because until we get proper communication as far as that the
matter is concerned to me it remains something that is not true. It’s something
that you are reading from the press and you don’t believe everything that is on
the press, so I don’t believe that a Minister, a seasoned Minister like the
Minister of Justice would do something like that, I don’t believe it. So until
we get that proper communication it’s something that I will not believe on now.

Gonda: But what if it turns out to be true? What will
happen?

Moyo: I can’t be making conjectures on such issues.
These are serious matters, they mean a lot. You are talking about Zimbabwe’s
relationship with the SADC. SADC is the guarantor of our Political Agreement.
SADC is the womb in the sub-region that we have - so we can’t be making such
statements or such decisions against our own region, it would be against
ourselves. So I don’t want again to make a premature statement because perhaps
it’s one of those creatures of imagination of one of the journalists. I don’t
believe that is true. It’s too ghastly to be true. It can’t be believable.

Gonda: But it’s not something that would be surprising given
that Zanu-PF has in the past made such unilateral decisions and many analysts,
legal experts feel this is happening because of the decisions, the rulings that
have been made by the Tribunal in recent months concerning the activities on
white commercial farms.

Moyo: It would be surprising because I expect all members of
the inclusive government to act in unison, to act with one accord, to sing from
the same hymn book. I’m not saying that we should be homogenous but we should
have a shared understanding. Issues are brought to cabinet, issues are discussed
by the members of the cabinet and decisions are made. If there are any other
issues that are done outside cabinet they are done through the Principals into
the inclusive government. The Principal that I work with is not aware of that,
so if he is not aware of that and I am not aware of it because I am a member of
cabinet, therefore I find it very difficult to comment on and to believe it and
we expect everyone to be working together. We have been working together, we
have problems, we have challenges but most of the time we try to consult each
other and I still expect that.

Gonda: The Zimbabwe Times reported recently that the Prime
Minister has agreed to the crafting of a definite course of action that will be
sold to cabinet as a national strategy to fight the ‘sanctions’. Can you tell us
about this?

Moyo: Indeed, we are producing or preparing a document,
a discussion document on tackling international isolation. For the document we
outline various key policy options that government should adopt and implement to
end international isolation, to end the challenges that we are having so again I
cannot pre-empt what the details of the document are but indeed a document is
being prepared, it shall be debated by government through the Council of
Ministers and taken to cabinet for adoption.

It’s not about sanctions per se; it’s about ending international isolation.
There is international isolation in this country for a number of reasons. We are
having international isolation in terms of failing to get credit lines into the
country because of financial penalties, those are not sanctions, they are
financial penalties. The targeted measures, those are not trade sanctions, they
are not economic sanctions, those are measures against individuals in government
- so we need to come up with various strategies to deal with this, to re-brand
the country, to implement our political agreement, to engage the European Union,
to engage Z’DERA so that we can move forward as a country. So that is going to
be tabled to the Council of Ministers in route to cabinet for adoption and for
policy.

Gonda: So as government are you going to be campaigning for
the removal of the restrictions that affect the country only or also that affect
individuals?

Moyo: I tell you that it’s not about campaigning, it’s
not about what you say - it’s about what you do. So the question is we have a
responsibility as government to make sure that we deal with the international
isolation so there are certain things that we should do as government, it’s not
about what we should say. We can stand the whole year shouting every day to say
to hell with sanctions, remove your sanctions - that will not solve the problem.
It would be nice to say it but those who will be saying that will be enjoying
listening to themselves because no-one will be listening to them. People don’t
want to just listen, people want to see things happening so our policy will be a
policy that will deal with the concrete matters that will lead to making sure
that the restrictive measures or sanctions are not irrelevant. So that’s what
the government should do and that’s what we will be pushing government to adopt.

Gonda: And finally Mr Moyo, as MDC and in your view, are
there sanctions or restrictions and what is the difference?

Moyo: In our view we have restrictive measures. Restrictive
measures are different from sanctions. Sanctions mainly are economic sanctions
meaning that trade between Zimbabwe and the international community is stalled,
is stopped, is restricted. Trade between Zimbabwe and the United States and the
United Kingdom has not been restricted at all. In fact over the past decade we
have had positive trade between Zimbabwe and the United States. We have been
exporting more goods to the United States than importing from them. So we do not
have trade sanctions with the United States. The companies in Zimbabwe are free
to trade with any country in Europe, in the European Union and the United
States, so that’s not sanctions.

If we had sanctions, Zimbabwe would not be selling any of those flowers to
Australia, would not be selling any of those products that we are selling to the
rest of the world. But we are selling which means we do not have trade sanctions
or economic sanctions. What we have are restrictive measures where individuals
cannot travel to the United Kingdom, to United States or to the European Union.
They have been banned. That’s what we have so those are the differences between
restrictive measures and sanctions. So we need to peel off, like I said,
mythology from fact so that we sort these matters and deal with them directly
rather than using politics and propagandism to deal with the issues that are
affecting the people. We need to go beyond rhetoric and deal factually with
matters because it is factually incorrect to claim that the international
community imposed trade sanctions on Zimbabwe because we are trading with them.

Gonda: You are in the same government and yet the political
parties in this inclusive government see things so totally differently. Why do
you think Zanu-PF says there are sanctions on Zimbabwe?

Moyo: I think your listeners should appreciate the
benefit for Zanu-PF for using sanctions. If they flag sanctions every day it
means they are able to condemn the west, they are able to condemn the MDC , they
are able to mobilise themselves around the issues of sanctions because that’s
the only thing that brings them together. So people are using sanctions. In fact
it is paradoxical, by claiming that there are sanctions in Zimbabwe and not
dealing with the issues that led to those sanctions it means we actually want
the sanctions to stay or to remain. If truly Zanu-PF, if truly government was
clear that restrictive measures or sanctions should go, we should simply
implement the Global Political Agreement and there will be no sanctions. But we
are not implementing. It means there are some sections of the inclusive
government that are benefiting from the continued existence of these restrictive
measures. They can use them to acquire either land or either farms or some
companies by using this rhetoric of sanctions. That’s the paradox that we have.

Gonda: Mr Gordon Moyo thank you very much for talking on the
programme Hot Seat.

Zimbabwe’s new state newspaper hits the street amid criticism

Zimbabwe's newest State newspaper has hit the streets
today amid complaints by media activists that government is using its dominance
of the market to disadvantage any potential new players. The launch of the new
publication H-Metro, comes as independent newspaper publishers await the green
light from government to launch dailies to compete with state
publications.

“You cannot have an expansion of state media control
without having an expansion of private players, as well as diversity of voices.
You cannot have government trying to take advantage of its primary role in print
media in Zimbabwe, the sole publisher of daily newspapers,” says Zimbabwe`s
Media Monitoring Institute of Southern Africa's ( Misa) Takura
Zhangazha.

In its defence Zimpapers - the state media stable,
says there is nothing sinister about the new daily's entry. Zimpapers Editor in
Chief, Pikirayi Deketeke says: “People would be concerned if our opinions or
analysis were a little bit hard or not favourable to other political parties,
but I don't believe we're supporters of the State or any particular political
party.”

Media freedom took a battering during the decade-long
political crisis in Zimbabwe which saw stringent regulation and accreditation
criteria introduced for independent media. The new inclusive government has set
itself the benchmark of freeing up the media space. But the slow pace of media
reform has helped fuel tensions in the unity government with Prime Minister,
Morgan Tsvangirai, saying that vicious propaganda emanates from State
media.

Meanwhile, parliament has already forwarded the names
of proposed candidates for the envisaged Zimbabwe Media Commission to President
Robert Mugabe. He is expected to give his stamp of approval soon.

harassment, and deprivation of freedom, of individuals through contrived
arrests on spurious charges,

widespread corruption involving senior public and uniformed figures,

the deprivation of the right to Freedom of Expression, and the abuse
thereof,

violent, unconstitutional, invasions and seizures of property and farms, and

deliberate attempts to derail the Constitution-making process.

The month of August has seen a notable increase in breaches in these two
areas:

open subversion of legal or administrative processes for political benefit,
and

deliberate non-cooperation with the other parties to the GPA agreement, or
the deliberate undermining - or abuse of - other persons or parties for
political ends.

Zanu PF’s favourite political tool - violence - stills plagues
Zimbabwe’s populace to the extent that it is almost accepted as a norm by the
majority. Our first listed breach in Issue 8 reveals that the government has
turned deaf ears to the warnings by the Kimberly Process that the sales of
Zimbabwean diamonds may be suspended internationally after the international
body directed that Zimbabwe’s diamond fields should be demilitiarised. The
troops are still there, and rights abuses and smuggling continue unabated.

On a more local level, a young man was murdered by seven Zanu PF thugs in
Macheke after going to the home of a local Zanu PF chairman to ask for his
outstanding wages. He was subjected to a brutal beating and torture before he
died, and his body dumped on a road to make it look like an accident. One
wonders how an ‘accident’ explains wounds made by redhot iron rods through the
stomach. It is alleged that Minister Didymus Mutasa aided the release of the
perpetrators, who only received a fine as their punishment.

Arrest and harassment of non-Zanu PF leaders continued through August, with
the trial of MDC-T official Thamsanqa Mahlangu starting in earnest. He is facing
allegations of stealing a cell phone from war veteran Joseph Chinotimba -
allegations he denies. The trial was postponed to August 26th after the State
said it needed more time. The High Court threw out an application by MDC
official Roy Bennett to have his bail conditions relaxed so he can travel on
business. Bennett’s application was thrown out on the grounds that he is facing
a criminal charge. It is controversial charge; the State claims to have the
evidence required to get a conviction, but keeps putting off the trial date and
thereby postponing the need to produce their evidence.

Looking now at the ever-present corruption in Zimbabwe, villagers in the area
under Chief Chundu in Hurungwe are being told that they face eviction from their
homes after nearly three decades. This is to pave the way towards creating a
game park for a safari operations partnership between a Chinese company and
Chief Chundu. A local councillor confirmed the villagers’ fears but said council
had no plans to evict the villagers, many of whom are too old to start a new
life. Efforts to talk with or get further information out of the Chief were met
with complete indifference: he said that he is Chief and can do as he wants in
“his” area.

Issue 8 features one clear cut example of the abuse of freedom of expression,
with Zimbabwe’s state-controlled media being ordered to attack Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara for his anti-Mugabe utterances at the weekend. These
remarks resulted in Zanu PF boycotting a Ministerial Retreat in Nyanga.
Mutambara had described last year’s Presidential run-off elections as
“fraudulent, a nullity and a farce”. Media sources said they were ordered to run
an anti-Mutambara story for the whole day, with the same story appearing on the
front page of Monday’s Herald newspaper. On August 10th, the state controlled
media was used to controversially promulgate Patrick Chinamasa and Zanu PF’s
view that the SADC Tribunal does not exist, statements that arguably led to
arson attacks on two farmers using the the Tribunal in their pursuit for
justice.

Chegutu farmer Ben Freeth, after months of intimidation and attacks by land
invaders, lost his home after his farmhouse, the homes of some of his workers
and a factory for the farm produce, were burned down in an arson attack on
Sunday, which started while he was at Church. It was impossible to fight the
fire as land invaders had previously stolen all their equipment, including
tractors and irrigation pipes, and the family was unable to put out the fire.
They were left alone to battle the blaze, while land invaders drove around
watching. His family and staff are virtually left with the clothes on their
backs. Three days later, the home of Mike and Angela Campbell, a short distance
from the Freeth’s, was also burned to the ground.

In this Issue we also highlight the Parliament’s Constitutional Select
Committee co-chairman Paul Mangwana (Zanu-PF) indicating that the lifespan of
Zimbabwe’s current inclusive government will likely be five years. He said this
was because the majority of legislators across the political divide want to
serve their full term of five years. This conflicts with the public perception
that the duration of the hybrid government was two years, with the specific
objective of writing a constitution for the country before fresh, free and fair
elections are held. Mangwana is of the firm opinion that linking the
constitution-making process to elections was attracting resistance from
Zimbabwean legislators who want to stay in power as long as possible: “Power is
so sweet that no one wants to leave it”, Mangwana said.

Turning to the subversion of legal or administrative processes for political
benefit: it was reported that mysterious changes to the list of candidates for
the Zimbabwe Media Commission have come about with the list undergoing changes
on its way from the selection board to the President. Two Zanu-PF supporters who
were not on the first list released, are now on the Media Commission list and
the names of two independent candidates were dropped from the list. Speaker of
Parliament, Lovemore Moyo’s response when queried? The list published was ‘not
the official one.’

August also witnessed breaches of the GPA which consitituted deliberate
non-cooperation for political ends. In fact, 32% of articles recorded during the
month of August reflect this tactic, indicating a new trend of predominantly
Zanu PF resistance to the power-sharing government. Our first sample article
relates to the deadlock over the appointment of Zimbabwe’s central bank chief
and attorney general. A Zanu PF official said the dispute was merely “an
internal matter for Zimbabwe’s unity government to resolve”, and there was no
need for regional help. He said the party considered the issue of Western
sanctions a more urgent matter. The importance to the country of the need to
reverse these two appointments is being deliberately underplayed to ward off
pressure from Jacob Zuma and the SADC, purely for Zanu PF’s survival.

In another GPA-defying move, President Mugabe signed into Law a doctored
version of Constitutional Amendment Number 19, which might jeopardize the
constitutional referendum expected next year. The version approved by parliament
has been whittled down from 36 pages to only 18. The important changes were the
removal of two clauses linked to the current constitution-writing process. In
the absence of these clauses being enacted into law, control of any future
referendums remains legally vested in the President, to the detriment of the
whole Constitution-making process.

Yet another instance of non-cooperation was the controversy surrounding the
appointment of provincial governors from the two MDC formations. Although
previously agreed to, Government sources said Zanu PF had since reneged on the
deal, stating that the issue of governors was not negotiable, as their
appointment is the constitutional prerogative of the President.

President Mugabe showed his lead in Zanu PF’s stancenon-cooperation. He was
expected to attend a meeting of the three signatories to Zimbabwe’s national
unity government to seek resolution of divisive outstanding issues - as urged by
South African President Jacob Zuma during his two-day visit last week. However
the meeting failed to take place on Monday because President Robert Mugabe had
left the country for an African Union summit in Tripoli, Libya.

The volume of articles detailing breaches of the provisions of the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) last month was so great that we cannot do them justice
in this short document. For further relevant information, readers are encouraged
to visit http://www.sokwanele.com/zigwatch

Abuses continue as military grip on diamond fields tightensSW
Radio Africa (ZW): 10/08/2009

The government has ignored
directives made by the Kimberley Process to completely demilitarise the diamond
fields, in order to end ongoing human rights abuses there. Human Rights Watch
reports that the one army brigade was rotated out of the diamonds fields only to
be replaced by another. Calls to immediately suspend Zimbabwe are gathering
momentum. Human Rights Watch said that rights abuses and smuggling are
continuing, and witnesses to earlier abuses carried out in Chiadzwa, who gave
evidence to the Kimberley Process are being harassed and threatened.

Arnold Mosterd was murdered by Zanu(PF) thugs in Macheke after going to the
home of local Zanu(PF) chairman, Harry Munetsi to ask for his outstanding wages.
He was accused of supporting MDC, and was attacked and killed by seven suspects
(names provided) who assaulted him with logs, tied him up with ropes, cut his
chin with a knife, and pierced his stomach with red hot iron bars before his
body was carried and dumped on a road. Minister Didymus Mutasa reportedly
ordered the release of the suspects after three days in Marondera remand
prison.

The trial of MDC-T official Thamsanqa Mahlangu, facing allegations of
stealing a cell phone from war veteran Joseph Chinotimba, was postponed to
August 26th after the State said it needed more time. Mahlangu faces charges of
theft, together with his Personal Assistant Malven Chadamoyo, and two women who
were allegedly found in possession of the phone line. Mahlangu denies the
charges. Meanwhile, the High Court threw out an application by MDC official Roy
Bennett to have his bail conditions relaxed so he can travel on business -
because he is facing a criminal charge.

Villagers in the area under Chief Chundu in Hurungwe are being told they face
eviction from their homes after nearly three decades – to create a game park for
a safari operations partnership between a Chinese company and Chief Chundu. A
local councillor confirmed the villagers’ fears but said council had no plans to
evict the villagers. Many of the peasant farmers are too old to start a new
life. Chief Chundu simply said that he is Chief and could do as he wanted in
“his” area.

Zimbabwe’s state controlled media was on Monday ordered to attack Deputy
Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara for his Anti- President Robert Mugabe utterances
at the weekend which resulted in ZanuPF boycotting the second Ministerial
Retreat held in Nyanga. Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara had described last
year’s Presidential Run off elections as “fraudulent, a nullity and a farce”.
ZBC sources were ordered by the “top” to run an anti-Mutambara story for the
whole day, and the same story also appeared on the front page of Monday’s Herald
newspaper.

Besieged farmer’s house burned down in apparent arson attackSW
Radio Africa (ZW): 31/08/2009

Chegutu farmer Ben Freeth, after
months of intimidation and attack by land invaders, lost his home after his
farmhouse, the homes of some of his workers and a factory for the farm produce,
were burned down in an arson attack on Sunday, which started while he was at
Church. Because land invaders have stolen all their equipment, including
tractors and irrigation pipes, the family was unable to put out the fire. They
were left alone to battle the blaze, while land invaders drove around watching.
He rescued his family’s passports and his computer. Otherwise, his family and
staff are left with the clothes on their backs.

Two candidates to the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC), have been removed from
the final list in favour of Zanu-PF loyalists. It appears that the shortlist of
12 candidates has been sent to Robert Mugabe for final selection. Reportedly
Chris Mutsvangwa, a Zanu-PF activist and former ambassador, was included,
although not on the first list released. Lawton Hikwa, Dean at the National
University of Science and Technology, has been included, although not on the
original shortlist. However, publisher Roger Stringer and broadcast journalist
Douglas Dhliwayo, have been removed. Speaker of Parliament, Lovemore Moyo, said
the list published was ‘not the official one.’

Parliament’s Constitutional Select Committee co-chairman Paul Mangwana of
Zanu-PF said the lifespan of Zimbabwe’s current inclusive government will likely
be five years because the majority of legislators across the political divide
want to serve their full term of five years. He said that linking the
constitution-making process to elections was attracting resistance from
legislators. Public expectation is that the duration of the hybrid government
was two years, with the specific objective of writing a constitution for the
country before fresh, free and fair elections are held.

ZanuPF on Tuesday said it saw no need for outside help to break a deadlock
with the MDC over appointment of Zimbabwe’s central bank chief and attorney
general. In remarks clearly designed to show South African President and
regional chairman Jacob Zuma that any attempts to push for ZanuPF and MDC to
share the two key posts will be resisted, a ZanuPF official said the dispute was
an internal matter for Zimbabwe’s unity government to resolve. He said the party
considered the issue of Western sanctions a more urgent matter.

President Robert Mugabe signed a doctored version of Constitutional Amendment
Number 19, which might jeopardize the constitutional referendum expected next
year. According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, the version approved
by parliament was whittled down from 36 pages to only 18. ZLHR said the
important changes were the removal of two clauses linked to the current
constitution-writing process. In the absence of these clauses being enacted into
law, control of any future referendums remains legally vested with the
President.

Controversy surrounds the appointment of provincial governors from the two
MDC formations. Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur
Mutambara agreed that the governors would be appointed on the basis of the March
2008 House of Assembly election results. Incumbents were expected to leave
office next Monday. However, Government sources said Zanu PF had since reneged
on the deal saying the issue of governors was not negotiable, as their
appointment is the constitutional prerogative of the President.

A meeting of the senior figures in Zimbabwe’s national unity government to
seek resolution of divisive outstanding issues, urged by South African President
Jacob Zuma during his two-day visit last week, failed to take place on Monday
because President Robert Mugabe had left the country for an African Union summit
in Tripoli, Libya. Mr. Zuma, told President Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara that they could resolve
the issues troubling their government if they put their minds to it.

"Indigenising
Without Kicking Investors Away"

HARARE, Sep 7 (IPS)
- Eager to restore Zimbabwe's moribund economy, the country's government has
been soliciting investment globally. But the troubled southern African
country finds itself in an unenviable balancing act between protecting its
economic interests while attracting foreign investors.

After several
years of negative economic growth, some citizens have become vocal about
wanting control over business activities.

An organisation calling itself
the Affirmative Action Group wants every investment that comes into the
country to have local representation. "We want economic independence and
that's what we are pushing for," Tafadzwa Musarara, secretary general of the
Affirmative Action Group, told IPS.

AAG regards itself as the local
vanguard of black empowerment in business, education and employment. Its
demands follow in the wake of legislation passed when the former ZANU-PF
government decided to force foreign companies to hand majority ownership to
"indigenous" Zimbabweans.

"Colonisation disenfranchised the indigenous
people and it is this legacy that we wanted to change through this law,"
argued Musarara. "Attainment of independence is not complete without
economic independence."

The "indigenisation" law, introduced more than a
year ago, was aimed at forcing 51 percent Zimbabwean ownership of
enterprises. But the law seems to have scared off investors from outside the
country, leading to what seem like a change of tack by the current coalition
government of the MDC and ZANU-PF. The laws are being
reviewed.

During a trip to Europe in June to try and mend relations with
European countries, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the MDC,
told audiences that changing the laws was "an urgent matter that needed to
be dealt with".

The minister of regional integration and
international trade, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, told IPS that, "under
the global set-up that we live in, there is need to (strike a balance
between) that which allows good investment and that which caters for
indigenous provisions because there is always something that talks to
ownership of resources by locals," Misihairabwi-Mushonga told
IPS.

"The (Affirmative Action Group) is right to lobby for what they
believe in but discussions are taking place in government on how to
accommodate indigenisation without kicking investors away."

But
Musarara argues that the laws are simply being misunderstood. "We are
entitled to the resources under the ground and over the ground, like in
Europe, the U.S. and Asia. There are unnecessary fears over the
indigenisation law. Yes, it calls for 51 percent local ownership but it is
open to negotiation like in any other business transaction," argued
Musarara.

"This issue has to be clarified before the investors come.
The law comes at a price but our resources are not renewable and we should
use them for the future generations."

Last month, the organisation
caused a diplomatic tiff when it demanded that German-owned international
courier, DHL, cede stocks to locals in line with the country's
indigenisation law. The Germany embassy advised the Zimbabwean government
that it would reconsider its relations with the country if the interference
with DHL continued.

But the Affirmative Action Group insisted that all
foreign companies have to comply with local laws. "When we see people
flouting laws then we have to force them to comply," Musara said.

The
pressure group added that it will also fight against the hiring of
expatriates by foreign-owned companies operating in Zimbabwe in situations
where there are locals who have the qualifications to run the
enterprises.

"We are going to lobby the immigration department and we
will oppose the issuing of permits to foreigners flouting indigenisation
laws. Foreigners should train our local people and prepare them to take
over. We are convinced that we have enough of our own who can now run these
foreign companies in high positions," Musarara told IPS.

The
organisation also lobbies for laws to protect local industries and create
employment for Zimbabweans. According to the International Labour
Organisation, Zimbabwe's unemployment rate stands at 96 percent.

The
manufacturing sector is still operating at less than 20 percent capacity and
the population depends on food imports for survival.

Musarara is of the
opinion that there is a need to make space for local industries to create
jobs and boost the country's economy through exports. "We are totally
against an uncontrolled influx of goods. Our people are unnecessarily
exposed to competition from unscrupulous foreign producers. We need to
protect local industries and create employment," Musarara told IPS.

"What
we have at the moment are solutions that take short cuts. We are just
shooting ourselves in the foot."

There has been an influx of foreign
goods from countries such as South Africa, China, Brazil and India. Most of
these goods, ranging from mineral water, maize meal, sugar and breast
feeding supplements, have been found to be sub-standard.

The
government has since banned some of these goods, including milk formula,
cordials diluted in water to make sweetened drinks, chicken and flavoured
water.

"We opened our borders in a hurry but we now need to license
foreign producers of food and subject their goods to a quality test before
they are put on the market," insisted Musarara. (END/2009)

Arthur Mutambara - The Accidental Leader
& Stuntman

There is something conspicuously shady about
Arthur Mutambara, the beleaguered and deserted leader of an increasingly
irrelevant fringe political party which in essence, is closing shop. His
splinter party, MDC-M, is notorious for ungraciously entering Zimbabwe's
politics through the back door. But how the inclusive government incidentally
ended up rewarding Mutambara as Deputy Prime Minister for representing a
microscopic constituency remains a mystery.

At a recent retreat in Nyanga which brought
together the bellicose parties to the inclusive government together, Mutambara
engaged in feigned and belated outrage about Zimbabwe's 2008 presidential
elections, months after he was politically rehabilitated. He apparently
infuriated Zanu PF, the rigging party, when he described the elections as
'fraudulent and a nullity'.

It is saddening to note that Mutambara's latest
stunt has been particularly misunderstood by many as sincere. For starters, we
all know the election was stolen. Fair enough. But the election was surely not
stolen from Mutambara. We also know that Mutambara does not speak for the
original MDC. Zanu PF is aware of that fact. So for Zanu PF ministers to be seen
boycotting such a meeting of national consequence because a stuntman like
Mutambara enraged them is pure theatrics!

Notwithstanding that nonsensical posturing, Zanu
PF must not forget that it was the taxpayer's money which funded such an
excursion in the first place. Zanu PF ministers knew very well that they had
nothing to offer and preempted. So, they would rather punish the whole nation
because of Mutambara's so called provocation? Since the inclusive government
came into existence, Zimbabwe has dragged because it is still constipated by
Mugabe and his men, as expected.

It is political suicide for Zanu PF to continue
to treat MDC as a nuisance rather a partner at a time Zimbabweans are fully
behind MDC's efforts to help clean up the mess Mugabe and colleagues created.
MDC must remain resolute in pushing the reform agenda as Mutambara's cloned
party continues to self-destruct.

If anything, this latest debacle gives
Zimbabweans every reason to believe that Mutambara is indeed a plant.
Intriguingly, Mugabe has always acted graciously towards this restless and
clumsy meddler, whom he previously described as a 'good' man. Upon Zuma's first
state visit to Zimbabwe, a week after the incident, Mugabe was quick to single
out Mutambara as the progressive force of the inclusive government. How
ironical!

It is not in Mugabe's nature to treat those who
disagree with him kindly. Any slightest provocation is guaranteed to invite
scornful vilification. In recent past, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai,
Condoleeza Rice, Jendai Frazer and US Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson were
rebuked as 'saboteur', 'slave', 'prostitute' and 'an idiot',
respectively.

Mutambara's positions mirror those of Mugabe, the
man behind his political fortunes. For instance, on land policy, Mutambara
recently stated that there is 'no going back on our revolution' even though it
is clear that the vast majority of the confiscated land now constitutes multiple
farm ownership by Mugabe, his cronies and their offspring. Land grab immensely
profited Mugabe's minions and sycophants. Land was used as a bounty for those
who commanded brutalization of innocent civilians such as Joseph Chinotimba.

Also worrisome is the fact that Mutambara seems
to wield so much political power (real or imaginary) to the extent that he has
acted as GNU spokesperson on numerous occasions. The most evident and disturbing
'press release' reflected his desire to hang on to power through the GNU for an
additional five years, unelected. For someone who cannot survive outside of
political patronage, it's understandable.

'After the constitutional review process, the
principals would then meet to decide if there is need to go for elections but I
do not see us going for elections in the next five years as long as things are
going well for the country,' said Mutambara, never mind his comprehension of
democracy. The scariest thing is that behind Mutambara looms the specter of
dictatorship, the very cause of Zimbabwe's misery.

'I am going to remove Mugabe, I promise you, with
every tool available', said Mutambara, in 2006. No one knows what happened to
those assurances neither has Mutambara swallowed them back considering that he
now calls Mugabe a hero. 'I was asking President Mugabe, where is your
biography, when are you finishing your book. What is wrong with you?' said
Mutambara, recently.

It is not surprising that new dictionaries will
have the face of Mutambara's hero (Mugabe) next to the word 'dictator'.
Questions about mass-murders, be it Chiadzwa or Gukurahundi, have been
ruthlessly muzzled. Calling Mugabe a hero is as ridiculous as calling George
Bush a hero given his Katrina and Iraqi legacy. Mugabe's record is further
tainted by criminally negligent homicide that caused over 4000 cholera deaths.
In addition the body count of soldiers who perished during the secretive DRC war
of choice and plunder remains unknown.

For now, the people of Zimbabwe are wise enough
to detect Mutambara and Mugabe's simulated animosities. The Mutambara-led split
from the original MDC had all the fingerprints of Mugabe whose hallmark has been
the politics of infiltration or elimination. Zimbabwe would have paid a dear
price if Morgan Tsvangirai had not stood firm to unify the people's party.

MDC saved Zimbabwe from total collapse even
though the trauma and scars of the Mugabe tragedy remain indelibly visible
economically, socially and politically. If Mugabe had vanished when the people
resoundingly rejected him a long time ago, Zimbabwe would never have suffered
such crises. A sustained campaign of violence powered by an everlasting supply
of recruits breathed life into the dictatorship. It's almost as if unemployment
was deliberately designed to create a reservoir of militias, both young and old.
The long suffering people still voted him out even as militias were pointing
guns to their heads.

Recently, things got very interesting when
Mutambara and Moyo, the 'nutty' professors , who both fumbled their way into
Zimbabwe's politics were at each other's throat. Somewhere, their godfather
Mugabe, must have been laughing. Only Mugabe can resurrect Mutambara from
current opprobrium and well-deserved withering of his ill-gotten political
fortunes.

Mutambara's ineptness does not appear to be the
only motivation for his MP's discontent. He remains a self-deluding neophyte who
exudes political incompetence and immaturity. Even the unstable Job Sikhala, in
spite of his volcanic temperament and crazy boisterousness, still scores more
political points than Mutambara. How Mutambara is handling the ongoing crisis in
his party amplifies poor leadership and political naivete. Maybe its time
Mutambara rents some thinkers who know political strategy.

By-elections are likely going to be held soon for
his three deposed MP's and in many other constituencies. But it is a fait
accompli that the seats will go to the original MDC as long as the elections are
free and fair. Even as Mutambara unscrupulously works in cahoots with Mugabe to
help create a Zanu PF majority in parliament by crook, it remains a perilous
political strategy for Mutambara.

This isn't just suspicion. It smacks as yet
another ploy by Mugabe to expand MP base for a majority in parliament so as to
''nuke' or rape the constitutional rewriting process. The increased wanton
incarcerations of MDC MP's help debunk the plot.

In all this, the hard reality is that at a
national level, Mutambara and Moyo will forever grapple with unpopularity and
rejection. In a democratic environment, their existence is very complicated. No
matter how much Arthur Mutambara and Jonathan Moyo attempt to socially
reconstruct their political relevance in Zimbabwe, public opinion will take
light-years to shift in their favor.

Nowhere to Hide

In 1983 when the Zanu PF regime in Harare launched
Gukurahundi and mounted a concerted attack on the structures and leadership
of the then opposition, Zapu, they did so behind a curtain of secrecy that
kept the full extent of what they were doing out of sight of the majority.
Nothing new in that - Hitler did the same thing 60 years ago in Germany and
the ceremonies in Poland this week brought all of those nightmares back into
perspective.

When the German genocides were being conducted, a
blanket of disinformation and secrecy kept the full extent of the nightmare
out of the public eye, the authorities knew what was going on but did not
take appropriate steps to bring the German government to book. It took
photographs of the camps in 1945 to finally bring the Holocaust to our
attention.

The same situation applied here from 1983 to 1987 and it
was only after the Legal Resources Foundation and the Catholic Commission
published their report "Breaking the Silence" on the genocide that finally
we got to see and hear about the extent of the atrocities. The only
difference between these two episodes was time and
magnitude.

Nothing illustrates the need for a free press and
electronic media than these failures of governments to protect their
citizens from abuse or to bring the authorities to account, than this sort
of state abuse of power.

In the past decade as we in the MDC have
fought for freedom, justice and democracy, we have had a constant battle
against secrecy and media restrictions. The new form of communications via
the internet has helped as this is out of the control of the authorities
virtually everywhere and has empowered the individual.

The fight
here can be divided into three main segments - the information and media
campaign, legal battles and the political struggle. The full story of the
work done and the success gained in each sphere need a book and they have
all contributed to whatever success we have had in the past 10 years. But
the main weapon we have had has been the use of the media and the weapon of
information.

When Mr. Mugabe was building his mansion in Borrowdale
it was an MDC volunteer who flew over the site with a camera and caught the
size and luxury of this extravaganza, I was suspected of being responsible
and was told that "if I flew my aeroplane across the site again, I would be
shot down by the air force." As I had nothing to do with the exercise at
least it told us they knew nothing of the
operation.

Disappearances and violence against opponents were all
carefully monitored and brought out into the public domain; individuals went
to great lengths to collect information and often at risk to their own
safety, brought the facts to the light of media scrutiny. Restrictions and
threats to media practitioners did not stop them coming and at great risk to
themselves, recording events and abuses of human rights.

The
result of all this effort and human courage is that the regime here has had
no where to hide when it committed abuses and as a result has not been able
to act with impunity. Had the veil of secrecy been effective the violations
of our rights and even physical safety would have been much more in jeopardy
than has actually been the case.

That is the position today on the
eve of the SADC summit in the Congo. It is a year since the GPA was signed
and the SADC leadership must now fulfil their obligation to act as
guarantors of the agreement. This means they should sit down and objectively
examine what has transpired since the GPA was signed and then take
appropriate action to ensure full compliance if there has been any
violations.

In fact we do not even appear on the agenda! So much for
African leadership; the Kenyan deal brokered by the regional States and now
the deal in Madagascar, are by no means shining examples of continental
diplomacy and real politic. It could be argued that regional action has
simply made things worse for all parties involved.

MDC is
battling to get the regional body to take its responsibilities seriously and
we hope to get a special summit to deal with the Zimbabwe issue. One thing
is for sure SADC, no more than Zanu PF, has no place to hide. How they deal
with their responsibilities will be a matter of record and comment across
the globe.

The issue of Zanu PF compliance with the terms of the GPA
is now a complete farce. They are in violation of virtually every aspect of
the agreement they signed and the list of violations grows by the day. They
had no right to "terminate" our participation in the SADC Tribunal as
announced this week. That is a matter for the government and is subject to
the consensual decision making mechanisms built into the
GPA.

Media reforms have been totally stalled, POSA and AIPPA remain
on the Statute books, senior appointments made without consultation and
agreement in terms of the GPA have not been rescinded and politically
motivated violence continues. We have evidence of new militia camps and the
clandestine deployment of military units and personnel to the districts to
direct a campaign of political violence. I was personally warned last week
by a senior Zanu PF person that the hard liners are arming themselves and we
must be careful.

Zuma and his colleagues cannot say they do not
know this. Since the early part of this century, the South Africans have
deployed intelligence agents to Zimbabwe and have a well oiled system of
double agents in the CIO and other State agencies. They know this is going
on, they know this is in direct violation of the GPA; they have no place to
hide on this issue.

In the meantime we struggle on with what we have
- tax revenues have climbed though the 100 million a month ceiling and the
maize crop is running out - from next month we will have to import the
majority of our needs. Failure to meet key benchmarks and to sign agreements
such as the Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement with South Africa, are
holding up lines of credit from across the globe and the region. Our leading
friends in the world community are understandably cautious and reticent
about helping us until we deliver on these key issues.

The Zanu
PF argument that our economic plight is the product of "sanctions" is pure
claptrap and in any event such sanctions that we do face are the direct
result of either Zanu PF violations of human rights and norms or our failure
to meet our obligations in financial and economic terms. In many ways they
are self imposed and therefore can only be removed by putting our affairs in
order and starting to live and work in accordance with the very standards we
have espoused in previously agreed protocols and international
agreements.